Integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop

ABSTRACT

An integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop, comprising: a circular frame body having a through hole at the center thereof; and a plurality of cotton yarn strips positioned at the bottom of the circular frame body. The top portions of the cotton yarn strips are radially arranged in a ∩-shaped way within a mold assembly of the circular frame body such that the top portions of the cotton yarn strips and the circular frame body are integrally formed. The circular frame body includes a circumferential rib at the center of each of the radial ∩-shaped parts of the cotton yarn strips such that the circumferential ribs are hidden against the ∩-shaped top portions of the cotton yarn strips to allow a tight fit of the top portions of the cotton yarn strips in the circular frame body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop, and more particularly to a structure that permits a rapid formation of the circular frame body and a reliable fastening of the cotton yarn strips.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the daily life, the mop is an indispensable cleaning tool. The mop includes a plurality of cotton yarn strips fastened at a mop head for absorbing the impurities and liquid on the floor. As a result, a clean floor may be achieved.

The conventional mop includes a bundle of cotton yarn strips fastened at a circular plastic head. Another conventional mop includes a plurality of the cotton yarn strips properly arranged and fastened at the end of an elongated plastic or wood stick. However, the cleaning effect of the circular plastic head mop or the elongated mop is affected to some extent since the cotton yarn strips are not easy for outspread.

Therefore, a disc type rotating mop head was developed for avoiding the above-mentioned drawbacks. The mop head is rotatable at 360° at the bottom of a handle. The cotton yarn strips are arranged in a circular way at the bottom of a circular frame. This disc type rotating mop head tends to achieve the cleaning effect and enhance the practicalness. However, in producing the disc type rotating mop head, a circular frame 80, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, must be made first. Meanwhile, a plurality of mounting holes 81 are formed in the circular frame. Thereafter, the end portion 91 of the cotton yarn strips 90 is placed with tools into the mounting hole 81 in a manual or semi-automatic way (see FIGS. 2A and 2B). However, the production of the disc type rotating mop head takes much time and requires much work, thereby increasing the production cost and having a low production capacity. Besides, the connection between the cotton yarn strips and the circular frame is not very tight by use of the above-mentioned fitting way. Moreover, the operation of the disc type rotating mop head cause an unceasing rotation, thereby leading to an easy loosening of the cotton yarn strips. As a result, the quality will be reduced, and the wear and tear may be accelerated, thereby reducing the service life. Thus, a further improvement is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide an integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop wherein the cotton yarn strips and the circular frame body are integrally formed in a mold assembly, thereby achieving a rapid production. In this way, the production capacity can be enhanced and the production cost can be reduced.

Another object of the invention is to provide an integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop wherein the plastic circular frame body 10 includes circumferential ribs 13 pushing against the top portion of the cotton yarn strips 20 to allow a tight fit such that the cotton yarn strips won't be easily loosened. Moreover, the quality can be improved and the service life can be prolonged.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, an integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop in accordance with the invention includes:

-   -   a) a circular frame body having a through hole at the center         thereof; and     -   b) a plurality of cotton yarn strips positioned at the bottom of         the circular frame body;         wherein the top portions of the cotton yarn strips are radially         arranged in a ∩-shaped way within a mold assembly of the         circular frame body such that the top portions of the cotton         yarn strips and the circular frame body are integrally formed;         and         wherein the circular frame body includes a circumferential rib         at the center of each of the radial ∩-shaped parts of the cotton         yarn strips such that the circumferential ribs are hidden         against the ∩-shaped top portions of the cotton yarn strips to         allow a tight fit of the top portions of the cotton yarn strips         in the circular frame body.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accomplishment of this and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following descriptions and its accompanying figures of which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a conventional disc-type mop head;

FIG. 1B is a cutaway view of the conventional disc-type mop head;

FIG. 2A is a cutaway view showing the conventional way to fit the cotton yarn strips into the mounting holes;

FIG. 2B is a cutaway view of the conventional circular frame into which the cotton yarn strips fit;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a mold assembly in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the mold assembly in accordance with the invention wherein the integral formation process is illustrated;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 8-8 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a partial structure in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a tappet for pushing against the cotton yarn strips of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

First of all, referring to FIGS. 3 through 10, a preferred embodiment of the invention includes a circular frame body 10 made by the plastic injection molding process. The circular frame body 10 includes a through hole 11 at the center thereof. A plurality of cotton yarn strips 20 is positioned at the bottom of the circular frame body 10. According to the embodiment, a plurality of engaging projections 12 are formed at the internal rim of the through hole 11, but should not be limited thereto. The engaging projections 12 are employed to allow a tight fit of an annular frame 33 of a mounting disc 30, thereby creating a mop head 40. The mop head 40 includes a rotating plate 31 with a projecting ear 32 at the center thereof. The projecting ear 32 of the rotating plate 31 is pivotally connected to a handle 50, thereby forming a mop.

As shown in FIGS. 5 through 8, the top portions 21 of the cotton yarn strips 20 are radially arranged in a ∩-shaped way within a mold assembly 60 of the circular frame body 10. According this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the mold assembly 60 includes a top mold 61, a bottom mold 62, and a molding cavity 63 interposed between the top and bottom molds 61, 62. The molding cavity 63 is formed according to the shape of the circular frame body 10. The molding cavity 63 includes at least one injection feed channel 64. As shown in FIG. 6, the circular frame body 10 and the top portions 21 of the cotton yarn strips 20 are integrally formed by the injection molding process after the top portions 21 of the cotton yarn strips 20 is placed into the molding cavity 63. Then, the finished product shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 is removed from the mold assembly 60.

The invention features that the cotton yarn strips 20 are pushed by an indentation 71 (formed at the top of a tappet 70) into the molding cavity 63 such that the cotton yarn strips 20 are arranged in a ∩-shape in the molding cavity 63 of the circular frame body 10. The structure of the tappet 70 is illustrated in FIG. 11. A U-shaped body 72 is formed at the top of the tappet 70 such that a circumferential cavity is created under the top portion 21 of the cotton yarn strips 20. In this way, the circumferential cavity tends to create a sprue when the circular frame body 10 is formed in the injection molding process. Thus, the injected material will penetrate into the U-shaped body 72. When the tappet 70 is pulled out downward, a circumferential rib 13 will be created in the circular frame body 10 (see FIGS. 9 and 10). Meanwhile, the circumferential ribs 13 are hidden against the ∩-shaped top portions 21 of the cotton yarn strips 20 to prevent the cotton yarn strips 20 from being loosened downward. According to the embodiment, the circumferential rib 13 includes an upright rib portion 14 at both sides thereof, thereby creating an H-shaped positioning part 15. Supposed that there are twenty cotton yarn strips 20, twenty H-shaped positioning parts 15 are formed at the bottom of the circular frame body 10, but should not be limited thereto. In other words, the hollow portions 16 between the H-shaped positioning parts 15 can also be constructed in a solid structure. In this way, the circular frame body 10 has a solid structure except the ∩-shaped receiving space between the twenty circumferential ribs 13 and the frame top 17.

For information on how to automatically feed the cotton yarn strips 20 into the mold assembly 60 and how to cut them off, refer to the pending patent application of the forming machine filed by the same applicant of the invention. The features of the invention lie in the forming structure instead of the forming machine so that no further descriptions thereto are given hereinafter.

According to the invention, the cotton yarn strips 20 is fastened by the above-mentioned H-shaped parts 15 integrally formed by the injection molding process at the top portions 21 of the cotton yarn strips 20. The bonding force acts on the ∩-shaped parts of the cotton yarn strips 20 in a staggered way. Therefore, the cotton yarn strips 20 are tightly secured and won't be easily loosened

Many changes and modifications in the above-described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims. 

1. An integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop, comprising: a) a circular frame body having a through hole at the center thereof; and b) a plurality of cotton yarn strips positioned at the bottom of the circular frame body; wherein the top portions of the cotton yarn strips are radially arranged in a ∩-shaped way within a mold assembly of the circular frame body such that the top portions of the cotton yarn strips and the circular frame body are integrally formed; and wherein the circular frame body includes a circumferential rib at the center of each of the radial ∩-shaped parts of the cotton yarn strips such that the circumferential ribs are hidden against the ∩-shaped top portions of the cotton yarn strips to allow a tight fit of the top portions of the cotton yarn strips in the circular frame body.
 2. The integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop as recited in claim 1 wherein the circumferential rib includes an upright rib portion at both sides thereof, thereby creating an H-shaped positioning part.
 3. The integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop as recited in claim 1 wherein a plurality of engaging projections are formed at the internal rim of the through hole of the circular frame body.
 4. The integral structure of cotton yarn strips and a circular frame body of a mop in claim 3 wherein a mounting disc fits in place at the top of the through hole of the circular frame body to create a mop head. 